United States Senator for OHIO

February 16, 2012

"This is an unfortunate but clear signal to the American people that Washington is spending too much...and putting our nation's fiscal stability at risk."

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), former director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and a member of the Senate Budget Committee, announced that his analysis of President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Request found that the statutory debt ceiling will be eclipsed before Election Day 2012:

“Following the contentious debt ceiling last August, President Obama promised that he would take action to address the country’s fiscal crisis. He has failed to do that. In fact, his new budget increases spending and projects that Washington will be hitting the debt ceiling again in mid-October – burning through a $2.1 trillion debt limit increase in just over 14 months. This is an unfortunate but clear signal to the American people that Washington is spending too much, borrowing too much, and putting our nation’s fiscal stability at risk.

“Despite this, President Obama’s budget increases the debt by $11 trillion over ten years, falling woefully short of addressing this pending fiscal crisis. Chock-full of gimmicks and stimulus spending, this is a political document and far from what you would hope to see from a leader in challenging times and an economic downturn.”

According to Table 6-2 in the President’s Budget’s “Analytical Perspectives” volume, the President estimates the total debt subject to the statutory limit – growing by $132 billion per month – will reach $16.334 trillion at the end of FY 2012 (September 30, 2012). This is just $60 billion below the current debt limit. Thus, without a change in the debt trajectory, the debt ceiling will be eclipsed by October 15, 2012 unless the Department of Treasury again uses emergency protocols to shift that date past Election Day 2012.